Women will help beat the recession

Media Release – for immediate use

21 May 2009

Women will help beat the recession

Newly elected president of the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPWNZ), Angela McLeod welcomes the launch tonight of the “Women on Boards - Why women on company boards are good for business” report by Prime Minister John Key.

‘We have been working to increase women in governance for nearly 70 years now, and its great to see this positive step by the current government.”

Overseas research has shown a connection between organisational performance - both financial and non-financial - and greater numbers of women in positions of power. In fact one such study showed that “the companies with the highest percentages of female executives delivered earnings far in excess of the median for other large firms in their industries” Roy Adler, Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

In this current economic climate, businesses need to be making decisions that will sustain their livelihood and therefore that of the community and nation, and including women on boards is one of these decisions.

“We believe that having women on boards means a greater diversity of skills, experiences, opinions and strategies – and that means stronger governance. With stronger governance it will inevitably mean higher results and returns”

“Better results are what this country needs to beat the recession”

ENDS

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